Monday, January 30, 2012

Sindhuja Rajaraman, a 14-year old girl has become the world’s youngest
Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The ninth standard student became the head of
Seppan Company, an animation firm, in October 2010, set up by her father.

She was adjudged the fastest 2D and 3D animator by software lobby
NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) at the Gaming
and Animation Conclave 2010 held in Hyderabad.

Rajaraman said: “I am just proud
to be an animator. The CEO is just a post given in this company. I am learning
animation for this CEO post to make myself worthy for the CEO post. There is no
age bar or age limit for animation. Everybody can do animation”.

“The scope for
animation in India is growing every day. There is going to be a big boom in
India and all industries are into the animation, they need animation and
multimedia. I am enjoying work and I am also getting challenging works” she
added.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Let’s
face it, women have the ability to read much more into a question than is
meant.

For
instance, a guy asks what the time is, and she hears, “I’m bored, I want to
leave, I wonder if this relationship is working for me, I think I may be able
to escape in the next few minutes, I wonder what I am doing here?” He wanted to
know what the time was, because he needs to take his tablet an hour after
supper.

So
what do the following questions mean to women?

Are
you going to be much longer? She hears :Here I am sitting on
my backside waiting in the car, while you are packing the baby’s bag, sorting
out the dog, wrapping the birthday present, dealing with YOUR mother’s
phonecall, setting the alarm and locking the house. What is taking you so long?

Why does this question irritate women?

This question merely reveals your husband/boyfriend’s complete lack of
understanding about what it takes to get ready to go on the road. And this is
what makes women angry. Leave it to the man in your life, and you will arrive
at the party without a present, without clean nappies for the baby, and to top
it all, a call from the alarm company, saying the armed response says the dog
is trotting around inside the house and they hope that is what set off the
alarm.

Don’t
you think you should start running again?

She hears :You are getting fat
and I think it is because you are not getting enough exercise. Pick up two more
kilo’s and I am out of here.

Why does this question irritate women?

It makes them feel that they are
being prescribed to in how they should look, what they should wear in order to
be found acceptable. Men just don’t understand that many women deal with baby
blues or the difficult boss by eating a second slice of chocolate cake,
followed by a cream caramel delight, rum ‘n raisin ice cream and rounded off
with a sweetie pie.

What’s
for supper?

She hears:Your place is in the
kitchen. I don’t care if your work a full day like I do, supper is your
responsibility and I am hungry.

Why does this question irritate women?

It makes them feel as if the bulk of the household responsibilities is still
theirs, even if they work fulltime or earn more than their husbands. Especially
if they shopped for the food, cooked yesterday and put three loads of washing
through the machine in the last 24 hours.

What
was your previous boyfriend like?

She hears:I don’t like the
thought of your being with anyone else, even if I didn’t know you then. I
really want to hear that he was a right royal jerk, useless in bed, couldn’t
hold down a job and generally disliked by all your family and friends.

Why does this question irritate women?

It makes them feel cornered – previous boyfriends are actually private
territory and have nothing to do with present relationships. When women are
hesitant to discuss previous relationships, men often react as if they are
somehow being excluded and as if the woman has something to hide. We all have
secrets and private things about which we don’t talk to anyone.

Who
was that you were talking to?

She hears: I don’t trust you. I don’t like you
talking to other men. You’re mine, mine, mine and don’t you forget it. How much
did that smile really mean?

Why does this question irritate
women?

It
makes them feel as if they are being treated like possessions and not human
beings. Everyone needs friends and women certainly do not want to sleep with
every man they smile at. Heavens, that would include the 72-year-old butcher on
the corner.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

We all
want to raise our little ones to be polite and well behaved, and learning those
lessons starts at home. They won't remember them all, or get them right every
time, but patience and perseverance should get you through:

1. Always say please and thank you.
Whether they're activities as small as giving your little one a snack, or them
asking if they can play in the garden, always reinforce the importance of
saying please and thank you. No matter how young your children are, you can't
start enforcing this rule too early!

2.
Table
manners
When your tiny tots are just learning to eat at the table,
start teaching them the manners you'd like them to have for the rest of their
lives! Rules like not eating with their mouths open, or not putting their
elbows on the table, are good life lessons for
your children to learn as soon as possible.

3.
Play dates
When you're little ones go on play dates,
or to birthday parties, remind them to thank
their friend’s parents for having them over. If you aren't going to be
attending the play date or event with your little one, ensure your little ones
know they should treat their friends parents (and all grown-ups) with the same
respect they treat you.

4.
Birthday
party etiquette
It's often said that kids go wild at birthday parties - all the sweet snacks
and fun can make little ones get excited, and sometimes forget their manners.
But no matter how excited your little one is on their birthday, there are some
manners they shouldn't forget: to open their presents thoughtfully (not ripping
off the paper, or tossing the present to one side as soon as they've seen it)
and to say thank you for every gift, and to every attendee.

5.
Mind the language
There will come a moment every parent dreads: the moment your little one
swears. And then finds it funny! The worst thing you can do in this scenario is
laugh. Let them know that you already know that word, you think it's
unpleasant, not funny, and ask your little one not to use it again!

6.
Don't be mean
Kids tease each other and they find it funny. But this can sometimes go a step
too far and lead to
bullying. Make sure your little ones don't call others mean
names, and don't make fun of anyone for any reason. Ganging up on someone else
is cruel, not clever.

7.
Excuse me!
Once your little ones have mastered saying please and thank you, teach them to
say excuse me. It's the polite thing to say when you have to interrupt someone,
or bump into somebody.

8.
TMI!
There are some things that are too much information, and that your little ones
shouldn't talk about in public! These include genitals, poo, nose picking, and
all the other gory things that amuse kids!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Some
people write a resume as if the purpose of the document was to land a job. As a
result they end up with a really long and boring piece that makes them look
like desperate job hunters. The objective of your resume is to land an
interview, and the interview will land you the job (hopefully!).

2. Back up your qualities and strengths

Instead
of creating a long (and boring) list with all your qualities (e.g.,
disciplined, creative, problem solver) try to connect them with real life and
work experiences. In other words, you need to back these qualities and
strengths up, else it will appear that you are just trying to inflate things.

3. Make sure to use the right keywords

Most
companies (even smaller ones) are already using digital databases to search for
candidates. This means that the HR department will run search queries based on
specific keywords. Guess what, if your resume doesn’t have the keywords related
to the job you are applying for, you will be out even before the game starts.

Like
it or not, employers will usually make a judgment about your resume in 5
seconds. Under this time frame the most important aspect will be the titles
that you listed on the resume, so make sure they grab the attention. Try to be
as descriptive as possible, giving the employer a good idea about the nature of
your past work experiences. For example:

It
would be difficult to emphasize the importance of proofreading your resume. One
small typo and your chances of getting hired could slip. Proofreading it once
is not enough, so do it twice, three times or as many as necessary. If you
don’t know how to proofread effectively, here are 8 tips that you can use.

6. Use bullet points

No
employer will have the time (or patience) to read long paragraphs of text. Make
sure, therefore, to use bullet points and short sentences to describe your
experiences, educational background and professional objectives.

7. Where are you going?

Including
professional goals can help you by giving employers an idea of where you are
going, and how you want to arrive there. You don’t need to have a special
section devoted to your professional objectives, but overall the resume must
communicate it. The question of whether or not to highlight your career
objectives on the resume is a polemic one among HR managers, so go with your
feeling. If you decide to list them, make sure they are not generic.

8. Put the most important information first

This
point is valid both to the overall order of your resume, as well as to the
individual sections. Most of the times your previous work experience will be
the most important part of the resume, so put it at the top. When describing
your experiences or skills, list the most important ones first.

9. Attention to the typography

First
of all make sure that your fonts are big enough. The smaller you should go is
11 points, but 12 is probably safer. Do not use capital letters all over the
place, remember that your goal is to communicate a message as fast and as
clearly as possible. Arial and Times are good choices.

10. Do not include “no kidding” information

There
are many people that like to include statements like “Available for interview”
or “References available upon request.” If you are sending a resume to a
company, it should be a given that you are available for an interview and that
you will provide references if requested. Just avoid items that will make the
employer think “no kidding!”

11. Explain the benefits of your skills

Merely
stating that you can do something will not catch the attention of the employer.
If you manage to explain how it will benefit his company, and to connect it to
tangible results, then you will greatly improve your chances.

12. Avoid negativity

Do
not include information that might sound negative in the eyes of the employer.
This is valid both to your resume and to interviews. You don’t need to include,
for instance, things that you hated about your last company.

13. Achievements instead of responsibilities

Resumes
that include a long list of “responsibilities included…” are plain boring, and
not efficient in selling yourself. Instead of listing responsibilities,
therefore, describe your professional achievements.

14. No pictures

Sure,
we know that you are good looking, but unless you are applying for a job where
the physical traits are very important (e.g., modeling, acting and so on), and
unless the employer specifically requested it, you should avoid attaching your
picture to the resume.

15. Use numbers

This
tip is a complement to the 13th one. If you are going to describe your past
professional achievements, it would be a good idea to make them as solid as
possible. Numbers are your friends here. Don’t merely mention that you
increased the annual revenues of your division, say that you increased them by
$100,000, by 78%, and so on.

16. One resume for each employer

One
of the most common mistakes that people make is to create a standard resume and
send it to all the job openings that they can find. Sure it will save you time,
but it will also greatly decrease the chances of landing an interview (so in
reality it could even represent a waste of time). Tailor your resume for each
employer. The same point applies to your cover letters.

17. Identify the problems of the employer

A
good starting point to tailor your resume for a specific employer is to
identify what possible problems he might have at hand. Try to understand the
market of the company you are applying for a job, and identify what kind of difficulties
they might be going through. After that illustrate on your resume how you and
your skills would help to solve those problems.

18. Avoid age discrimination

It
is illegal to discriminate people because of their age, but some employers do
these considerations nonetheless. Why risk the trouble? Unless specifically
requested, do not include your age on your resume.

19. You don’t need to list all your work experiences

If
you have job experiences that you are not proud of, or that are not relevant to
the current opportunity, you should just omit them. Mentioning that you used to
sell hamburgers when you were 17 is probably not going to help you land that
executive position.

20. Go with what you got

If
you never had any real working experience, just include your summer jobs or
volunteer work. If you don’t have a degree yet, mention the title and the
estimated date for completion. As long as those points are relevant to the job
in question, it does not matter if they are official or not.

21. Sell your fish

Remember
that you are trying to sell yourself. As long as you don’t go over the edge,
all the marketing efforts that you can put in your resume (in its content,
design, delivery method and so on) will give you an advantage over the other
candidates.

22. Don’t include irrelevant information

Irrelevant
information such as political affiliation, religion and sexual preference will
not help you. In fact it might even hurt your chances of landing an interview.
Just skip it.

23. Use Mr. and Ms. if appropriate

If
you have a gender neutral name like Alex or Ryan make sure to include the Mr.
or Ms. prefix, so that employers will not get confused about your gender.

24. No lies, please

Seems
like a no brainer, but you would be amused to discover the amount of people
that lie in their resumes. Even small lies should be avoided. Apart from being
wrong, most HR departments do background checks these days, and if you are
buster it might ruin your credibility for good.

25. Keep the salary in mind

The
image you will create with your resume must match the salary and responsibility
level that you are aiming for.

26. Analyze job ads

You
will find plenty of useful information on job ads. Analyze no only the ad that
you will be applying for, but also those from companies on the same segment or
offering related positions. You should be able to identify what profile they
are looking for and how the information should be presented.

27. Get someone else to review your resume

Even
if you think you resume is looking kinky, it would be a good idea to get a
second and third opinion about it. We usually become blind to our own mistakes
or way of reasoning, so another people will be in a good position to evaluate
the overall quality of your resume and make appropriate suggestions.

28. One or two pages

The
ideal length for a resume is a polemic subject. Most employers and recruiting
specialists, however, say that it should contain one or two pages at maximum.
Just keep in mind that, provided all the necessary information is there, the
shorter your resume, the better.

29. Use action verbs

A
very common advice to job seekers is to use action verbs. But what are they?
Action verbs are basically verbs that will get noticed more easily, and that
will clearly communicate what your experience or achievement were. Examples
include managed, coached, enforced and planned. Here you can find a complete
list of action
verbs divided by skill category.

30. Use a good printer

If
you are going to use a paper version of your resume, make sure to use a decent
printer. Laser printers usually get the job done. Plain white paper is the
preferred one as well.

31. No hobbies

Unless
you are 100% sure that some of your hobbies will support you candidacy, avoid
mentioning them. I know you are proud of your swimming team, but share it with
your friends and not with potential employers.

32. Update your resume regularly

It
is a good idea to update your resume on a regular basis. Add all the new information
that you think is relevant, as well as courses, training programs and other
academic qualifications that you might receive along the way. This is the best
way to keep track of everything and to make sure that you will not end up
sending an obsolete document to the employer.

33. Mention who you worked with

If
you have reported or worked with someone that is well known in your industry,
it could be a good idea to mention it on the resume. The same thing applies to
presidents and CEOs. If you reported to or worked directly with highly ranked
executives, add it to the resume.

34. No scattered information

Your
resume must have a clear focus. If would cause a negative impression if you
mentioned that one year you were studying drama, and the next you were working
as an accountant. Make sure that all the information you will include will work
towards a unified image. Employers like decided people.

35. Make the design flow with white space

Do
not jam your resume with text. Sure we said that you should make your resume as
short and concise as possible, but that refers to the overall amount of
information and not to how much text you can pack in a single sheet of paper.
White space between the words, lines and paragraphs can improve the legibility
of your resume.

36. Lists all your positions

If
you have worked a long time for the same company (over 10 years) it could be a
good idea to list all the different positions and roles that you had during
this time separately. You probably had different responsibilities and developed
different skills on each role, so the employer will like to know it.

37. No jargon or slang

It
should be common sense, but believe me, it is not. Slang should never be
present in a resume. As for technical jargon, do not assume that the employer
will know what you are talking about. Even if you are sending your resume to a
company in the same segment, the person who will read it for the first time
might not have any technical expertise.

38. Careful with sample resume templates

There
are many websites that offer free resume templates. While they can help you to
get an idea of what you are looking for, do not just copy and paste one of the
most used ones. You certainly don’t want to look just like any other candidate,
do you?

39. Create an email proof formatting

It
is very likely that you will end up sending your resume via email to most
companies. Apart from having a Word document ready to go as an attachment, you
should also have a text version of your resume that does not look disfigured in
the body of the email or in online forms. Attachments might get blocked by spam
filters, and many people just prefer having the resume on the body of the email
itself.

40. Remove your older work experiences

If
you have been working for 20 years or more, there is no need to have 2 pages of
your resume listing all your work experiences, starting with the job at the
local coffee shop at the age of 17! Most experts agree that the last 15 years
of your career are enough.

41. No fancy design details

Do
not use a colored background, fancy fonts or images on your resume. Sure, you
might think that the little flowers will cheer up the document, but other
people might just throw it away at the sight.

42. No pronouns

You
resume should not contain the pronouns “I” or “me.” That is how we normally
structure sentences, but since your resume is a document about your person,
using these pronouns is actually redundant.

43. Don’t forget the basics

The
first thing on your resume should be your name. It should be bold and with a
larger font than the rest of the text. Make sure that your contact details are
clearly listed. Secondly, both the name and contact details should be included
on all the pages of the resume (if you have more than one).

44. Consider getting professional help

If
you are having a hard time to create your resume, or if you are receiving no
response whatsoever from companies, you could consider hiring a professional
resume writing service. There are both local and online options are available,
and usually the investment will be worth the money.

Monday, January 2, 2012

A water bearer in china had two large pots, each hung on
the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot
was perfect and always delivered a full protection of water. At the end of the
long walk from the stream to the House, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, which the bearer
delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house.

Of course, the
perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But
the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection.

And miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of
what it had been made to do.

After two years of what perceived to be a bitter failure,
it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.”I am ashamed of myself, and
I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load
because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way to your
house.

Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and
you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said. The barrier said to
the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path,
but not on the other pot’s side?

That’s because I have always known about your flaw. So I planted
flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you’ve
watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to
decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not
be this beauty to grace the house?

Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws we each have
that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You’ve just got
to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. Blessed are
the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.